Gao Wu: Oh no! Young Master Zhen is a cultivator!

The students below the stage could no longer see the two people's movements; they could only see a hammer shadow chasing a human figure moving at high speed on the stage.

Bang bang bang bang!

Accompanied by the sound of collision, ice mist and air blasts continued to explode.

Lin Ran dodged and weaved amidst the hammer's shadow, narrowly avoiding Chu Xining's attacks each time.

"Don't rely on momentum when switching hands. While momentum can increase your power, it can also make your movements very stiff."

The ice hammer in Chu Xining's hand shattered, and then condensed into a slightly smaller ice hammer.

"That way, we won't be affected by inertia!"

"There are pros and cons. As a result, the intensity is also reduced."

Lin Ran unleashed a flurry of punches, each landing on the ice hammer that Chu Xining had just conjured.

Bang bang bang!

The ice hammer cracked again, spreading from the head to the handle, and exploded instantly, scattering into countless fragments.

Splash!

Ice shards fell from the sky, covering the arena and reflecting the light from the dome.

Chu Xining looked at the crumbs in her hand, then pouted helplessly, "I give up."

There was a moment of silence in the audience, then applause and cheers erupted simultaneously.

However, several candidates raised questions.

"Why does it feel like that ice-element awakener isn't using her full strength? I only saw her wielding an ice hammer and engaging in a fierce battle with her opponent, without fully utilizing the advantages of the ice element."

"It can't be that bad, can it? This is the national martial arts exam arena, how could they possibly hold back?"

"Who can say for sure? They seem to have gone to the same school."

"So what if we go to the same school? Would you let me win if we went to the ring?"

"Then why do you think she didn't use remote methods?"

"I think it's because ordinary elemental attacks don't work on innate martial artists, so she switched to melee combat, since innate martial artists have protective qi around their bodies."

"That does make some sense..."

While her protective aura could indeed block some elemental attacks, Chu Xining clearly wasn't giving up on elemental attacks because of this.

Before the fight, she knew she was no match for Lin Ran, so she decided to save her tricks for dealing with others.

The next two matches were a foregone conclusion, with Lin Ran and Chu Xining advancing to the top eight as the first and second place finishers in their respective groups.

Meanwhile, two more martial artists at the Innate Realm appeared in several other groups.

Ye Chen, from Kyoto No. 1 High School, is an SSS-level space-type awakener.

Another one is named Ma Yiming, from Kyoto No. 2 Middle School, an S-class lightning-type awakener.

Without Lin Ran and Chu Xining, the two of them would have been absolutely overwhelmingly superior.

From this perspective, Kyoto's student pool is still much better than that of other cities.

The four groups took turns competing, and soon it was noon.

The group stage has concluded, and the list of the eight quarterfinalists is scrolling across the big screen.

Group A, Lin Ran, Xinhai No.1 Middle School.

Group A, Chu Xining, Xinhai No.1 Middle School.

Group B, Ye Chen, Kyoto No.1 Middle School.

Group B, Li Feiyu, Jiangcheng No. 3 Middle School.

Group C, Ma Yiming, Kyoto No. 2 Middle School.

Group C, Wang Lin, Hangzhou No.1 Middle School.

Group D, Su Jin, Xinhai No. 7 Middle School.

Group D, Zeng Aniu, Yuncheng No.1 Middle School.

The stands were quiet for a few seconds, then a wave of suppressed discussion surged up like a tide.

"I hadn't noticed before, but Xinhai City actually has three players in the top eight!"

"I thought two Innate Martial Artists were the limit, but I didn't expect there to be other experts!"

"Only two players from Kyoto made it to the quarterfinals!"

During the lunch break, just as the athletes returned to the rest area, the main hall's doors were pushed open from the outside.

Chen Yicheng led three Special Affairs Bureau investigators through the stands and headed straight for the athletes' rest area.

He was still wearing that dark gray uniform, his gaze passing through the crowd and landing on Lin Ran.

"Lin Ran, please come with us to the Special Affairs Bureau to cooperate with the investigation." Chen Yicheng stopped in front of Lin Ran, his tone businesslike.

Lin Ran stood up from his chair: "I still have a competition to participate in, so I can't leave for the time being. Can I go after the arena matches are over?"

"I'm afraid that won't work. You must cooperate with the investigation." Chen Yicheng said solemnly.

The three investigators behind him spread out in a fan shape. Although they did not take any action, their positions made their stance clear.

Chu Xining stepped in front of Lin Ran and said loudly, "How can you arrest people so easily?"

"The sheriff was perfectly fine when we left yesterday, and so many security guards saw it. What right did you have to arrest Brother Lin Ran?"

"This student has misunderstood. We are not here to arrest anyone. We are only here to ask Lin to cooperate with the investigation."

Chen Yicheng's gaze bypassed Chu Xining and landed on Lin Ran.

"There are suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of the sheriff last night. Lin was one of the last people to have a conflict with him, and we need to find out the truth."

"We've reached the ranking rounds, the most crucial moment of the entire martial arts exam. Taking Lin Ran away at this time, aren't you disrupting the exam?"

Chu Xining's voice echoed in the rest area, and contestants from other cities around her turned to look.

"The martial arts exam is indeed important, but the stability of Kyoto is even more important!" Chen Yicheng said in an unchanged tone.

Lin Ran's expression turned somber, caught in a dilemma.

Following Chen Yicheng would make it easy to clear his name, but losing his qualifying spot in the rankings would mean losing the Nine Heavens Pendant.

If they don't follow Chen Yicheng, things might escalate further, and if things get out of hand, their martial arts exam qualification might be revoked, and they still wouldn't be able to get the Nine Heavens Pendant.

No matter what choice you make, the Nine Heavens Pendant seems to be in jeopardy.

Zhang Qichuan's voice came from the other end of the corridor: "Wait a minute!"

He strode quickly through the crowd of onlookers, sweat beading on his forehead, clearly having rushed over.

"You can't take Lin Ran away." He walked up to Chen Yicheng and spoke before his breathing had fully caught up.

"He is a strong contender for the top spot in this martial arts exam. If you take him away now, the fairness of the entire exam will be affected."

To put it conservatively, Lin Ran is a strong contender; in fact, in Zhang Qichuan's eyes, Lin Ran has already secured the title of champion in this year's martial arts exam.

For a local city lord like him, producing a martial arts champion under his rule was a significant achievement, greatly benefiting his career advancement.

At this point, having the Special Affairs Bureau take Lin Ran away would not only affect Lin Ran personally, but also Zhang Qichuan's career.

"That's not within my consideration." Chen Yicheng showed no mercy to anyone.

Zhang Qichuan frowned slightly: "Even the Special Affairs Bureau can't disregard the overall situation when enforcing the law, can it?"

"You can report this to my superiors," Chen Yicheng said calmly. "Unless new orders are issued, I have no choice but to take Lin away."

Zhang Qichuan's face darkened. He turned on his holographic bracelet, selected a communication channel, and dialed the number.

A few busy tones came from the bracelet, followed by a formulaic female voice: "Hello, the user you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."

He dialed another number, but got the same busy signal.

"Lord Zhang, please understand that this involves a murder case, and procedures must be followed."

Chen Yicheng seemed to have anticipated the situation: "As the local administrative head, you should understand this better than I do."

Zhang Qichuan was certainly familiar with the procedures of the Special Affairs Bureau, and because of this, he was even more certain that Chen Yicheng was not making things difficult, but was simply following the rules.

But given that this happened at this critical juncture, asking him to follow the rules would seem no different from making things difficult for him.

More and more candidates gathered around to watch, some whispering amongst themselves, while others secretly recorded the proceedings using their holographic bracelets.

"Are you really taking it? What about the qualifying race this afternoon?"

"With Lin Ran gone, the others will have their chance."

"Are you kidding me? The Secret Service is coming to arrest people at the martial arts exam site. This is too embarrassing."

"They said they were just cooperating with the investigation."

"Heh... Why choose now of all times to cooperate with an investigation when you can cooperate at any time?"

Just as Lin Ran was about to use some tricks, an old man with white hair and beard walked over from not far away.

The crowd automatically parted to both sides, making way for the elderly.

He was wearing a dark blue cotton and linen long gown, his beard and hair were all white, his face was thin, and his back was ramrod straight.

What is most striking about him are his eyes; the deep blue pupils have a very faint silver ring around the edge, unlike those of an ordinary person.